Isle of Man (2003) | Vietnam (2008) | |
Administrative divisions | there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 24 local authorities each with its own elections | 59 provinces (tinh, singular and plural) and 5 municipalities (thanh pho, singular and plural)
provinces: An Giang, Bac Giang, Bac Kan, Bac Lieu, Bac Ninh, Ba Ria-Vung Tau, Ben Tre, Binh Dinh, Binh Duong, Binh Phuoc, Binh Thuan, Ca Mau, Cao Bang, Dac Lak, Dac Nong, Dien Bien, Dong Nai, Dong Thap, Gia Lai, Ha Giang, Ha Nam, Ha Tay, Ha Tinh, Hai Duong, Hau Giang, Hoa Binh, Hung Yen, Khanh Hoa, Kien Giang, Kon Tum, Lai Chau, Lam Dong, Lang Son, Lao Cai, Long An, Nam Dinh, Nghe An, Ninh Binh, Ninh Thuan, Phu Tho, Phu Yen, Quang Binh, Quang Nam, Quang Ngai, Quang Ninh, Quang Tri, Soc Trang, Son La, Tay Ninh, Thai Binh, Thai Nguyen, Thanh Hoa, Thua Thien-Hue, Tien Giang, Tra Vinh, Tuyen Quang, Vinh Long, Vinh Phuc, Yen Bai municipalities: Can Tho, Da Nang, Hai Phong, Ha Noi, Ho Chi Minh |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 17.5% (male 6,637; female 6,337)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 24,373; female 24,165) 65 years and over: 17.1% (male 5,102; female 7,647) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.3% (male 11,617,032/female 10,784,264)
15-64 years: 67.9% (male 28,711,464/female 29,205,498) 65 years and over: 5.8% (male 1,919,138/female 3,024,960) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cereals, vegetables; cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry | paddy rice, coffee, rubber, cotton, tea, pepper, soybeans, cashews, sugar cane, peanuts, bananas; poultry; fish, seafood |
Airports | 1 (2002) | 44 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
total: 37
over 3,047 m: 9 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 10 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 7
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
Area | total: 572 sq km
land: 572 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 329,560 sq km
land: 325,360 sq km water: 4,200 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than New Mexico |
Background | Part of the Norwegian Kingdom of the Hebrides until the 13th century when it was ceded to Scotland, the isle came under the British crown in 1765. Current concerns include reviving the almost extinct Manx Celtic language. | The conquest of Vietnam by France began in 1858 and was completed by 1884. It became part of French Indochina in 1887. Vietnam declared independence after World War II, but France continued to rule until its 1954 defeat by Communist forces under Ho Chi MINH. Under the Geneva Accords of 1954, Vietnam was divided into the Communist North and anti-Communist South. US economic and military aid to South Vietnam grew through the 1960s in an attempt to bolster the government, but US armed forces were withdrawn following a cease-fire agreement in 1973. Two years later, North Vietnamese forces overran the South reuniting the country under Communist rule. Despite the return of peace, for over a decade the country experienced little economic growth because of conservative leadership policies. However, since the enactment of Vietnam's "doi moi" (renovation) policy in 1986, Vietnamese authorities have committed to increased economic liberalization and enacted structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The country continues to experience protests from various groups - such as the Protestant Montagnard ethnic minority population of the Central Highlands and the Hoa Hao Buddhists in southern Vietnam over religious persecution. Montagnard grievances also include the loss of land to Vietnamese settlers. |
Birth rate | 11.38 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 16.63 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $485 million
expenditures: $463 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY00/01 est.) |
revenues: $18.28 billion
expenditures: $19.79 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Douglas | name: Hanoi
geographic coordinates: 21 02 N, 105 51 E time difference: UTC+7 (12 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | temperate; cool summers and mild winters; overcast about one-third of the time | tropical in south; monsoonal in north with hot, rainy season (May to September) and warm, dry season (October to March) |
Coastline | 160 km | 3,444 km (excludes islands) |
Constitution | unwritten; note - The Isle of Man Constitution Act, 1961, does not embody the Manx Constitution | 15 April 1992 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Isle of Man |
conventional long form: Socialist Republic of Vietnam
conventional short form: Vietnam local long form: Cong Hoa Xa Hoi Chu Nghia Viet Nam local short form: Viet Nam abbreviation: SRV |
Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Manx pound | - |
Death rate | 11.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $24.41 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael W. MICHALAK
embassy: 7 Lang Ha Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi mailing address: PSC 461, Box 400, FPO AP 96521-0002 telephone: [84] (4) 850-5000 FAX: [84] (4) 850-5010 consulate(s) general: Ho Chi Minh City |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (British crown dependency) | chief of mission: Ambassador (Appointed) Le Cong PHUNG
chancery: 1233 20th Street NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 861-0737 FAX: [1] (202) 861-0917 consulate(s) general: San Francisco |
Disputes - international | none | southeast Asian states have enhanced border surveillance to check the spread of avian flu; Cambodia and Laos protest Vietnamese squatters and armed encroachments along border; an estimated 300,000 Vietnamese refugees reside in China; establishment of a maritime boundary with Cambodia is hampered by unresolved dispute over the sovereignty of offshore islands; demarcation of the China-Vietnam boundary proceeds slowly and although the maritime boundary delimitation and fisheries agreements were ratified in June 2004, implementation has been delayed; China occupies the Paracel Islands also claimed by Vietnam and Taiwan; involved in complex dispute with China, Malaysia, Philippines, Taiwan, and possibly Brunei over the Spratly Islands; the 2002 "Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea" has eased tensions but falls short of a legally binding "code of conduct" desired by several of the disputants; Vietnam continues to expand construction of facilities in the Spratly Islands; in March 2005, the national oil companies of China, the Philippines, and Vietnam signed a joint accord to conduct marine seismic activities in the Spratly Islands |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA | $5.4 billion in credits and grants pledged by the 2007 Consultative Group meeting in Hanoi (2007) |
Economy - overview | Offshore banking, manufacturing, and tourism are key sectors of the economy. The government's policy of offering incentives to high-technology companies and financial institutions to locate on the island has paid off in expanding employment opportunities in high-income industries. As a result, agriculture and fishing, once the mainstays of the economy, have declined in their shares of GDP. Trade is mostly with the UK. The Isle of Man enjoys free access to EU markets. | Vietnam is a densely-populated developing country that in the last 30 years has had to recover from the ravages of war, the loss of financial support from the old Soviet Bloc, and the rigidities of a centrally-planned economy. Economic stagnation marked the period after reunification from 1975 to 1985. In 1986, the Sixth Party Congress approved a broad economic reform package that introduced market reforms and set the groundwork for Vietnam's improved investment climate. Substantial progress was achieved from 1986 to 1997 in moving forward from an extremely low level of development and significantly reducing poverty. The 1997 Asian financial crisis highlighted the problems in the Vietnamese economy and temporarily allowed opponents of reform to slow progress toward a market-oriented economy. GDP growth averaged 6.8% per year from 1997 to 2004 even against the background of the Asian financial crisis and a global recession. Since 2001, Vietnamese authorities have reaffirmed their commitment to economic liberalization and international integration. They have moved to implement the structural reforms needed to modernize the economy and to produce more competitive, export-driven industries. The economy grew 8.5% in 2007. Vietnam's membership in the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) and entry into force of the US-Vietnam Bilateral Trade Agreement in December 2001 have led to even more rapid changes in Vietnam's trade and economic regime. Vietnam's exports to the US increased 900% from 2001 to 2007. Vietnam joined the WTO in January 2007, following over a decade long negotiation process. WTO membership has provided Vietnam an anchor to the global market and reinforced the domestic economic reform process. Among other benefits, accession allows Vietnam to take advantage of the phase-out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, which eliminated quotas on textiles and clothing for WTO partners on 1 January 2005. Agriculture's share of economic output has continued to shrink, from about 25% in 2000 to less than 20% in 2007. Deep poverty, defined as a percent of the population living under $1 per day, has declined significantly and is now smaller than that of China, India, and the Philippines. Vietnam is working to create jobs to meet the challenge of a labor force that is growing by more than one-and-a-half million people every year. In an effort to stem high inflation which took off in 2007, early in 2008 Vietnamese authorities began to raise benchmark interest rates and reserve requirements. Hanoi is targeting an economic growth rate of 7.5-8% during the next four years. |
Electricity - consumption | - | 51.35 billion kWh (2007) |
Electricity - exports | - | 0 kWh (2007) |
Electricity - imports | - | 0 kWh (2007) |
Electricity - production | - | 59.01 billion kWh (2007) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Irish Sea 0 m
highest point: Snaefell 621 m |
lowest point: South China Sea 0 m
highest point: Fan Si Pan 3,144 m |
Environment - current issues | waste disposal (both household and industrial); transboundary air pollution | logging and slash-and-burn agricultural practices contribute to deforestation and soil degradation; water pollution and overfishing threaten marine life populations; groundwater contamination limits potable water supply; growing urban industrialization and population migration are rapidly degrading environment in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Manx (Norse-Celtic descent), Briton | Kinh (Viet) 86.2%, Tay 1.9%, Thai 1.7%, Muong 1.5%, Khome 1.4%, Hoa 1.1%, Nun 1.1%, Hmong 1%, others 4.1% (1999 census) |
Exchange rates | Manx pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); the Manx pound is at par with the British pound | dong per US dollar - 16,119 (2007), 15,983 (2006), 15,746 (2005), NA (2004), 15,510 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Lord of Mann Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor Ian MACFADYEN (since 26 October 2002)
head of government: Chief Minister Richard CORKILL (since 6 December 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch for a five-year term; the Chief Minister is elected by the Tynwald; election last held 6 December 2001 (next to be held NA December 2006) election results: Richard CORKILL elected chief minister by the Tynwald |
chief of state: President Nguyen Minh TRIET (since 27 June 2006); Vice President Nguyen Thi DOAN (since 25 July 2007)
head of government: Prime Minister Nguyen Tan DUNG (since 27 June 2006); Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Sinh HUNG (since 28 June 2006), Deputy Prime Minister Hoang Trung HAI (since 2 August 2007), Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Thien NHAN (since 2 August 2007), Deputy Prime Minister Pham Gia KHIEM (since 28 June 2006), and Deputy Prime Minister Truong Vinh TRONG (since 28 June 2006) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president based on proposal of prime minister and confirmed by National Assembly elections: president elected by the National Assembly from among its members for five-year term; last held 27 June 2006 (next to be held in 2011); prime minister appointed by the president from among the members of the National Assembly; deputy prime ministers appointed by the prime minister; appointment of prime minister and deputy prime ministers confirmed by National Assembly election results: Nguyen Minh TRIET elected president; percent of National Assembly vote - 94%; Nguyen Tan DUNG elected prime minister; percent of National Assembly vote - 92% |
Exports | $NA | 315,700 bbl/day (2007) |
Exports - commodities | tweeds, herring, processed shellfish, beef, lamb | crude oil, marine products, rice, coffee, rubber, tea, garments, shoes |
Exports - partners | UK (2000 est.) | US 21.2%, Japan 12.3%, Australia 9.4%, China 5.7%, Germany 4.5% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red with the Three Legs of Man emblem (Trinacria), in the center; the three legs are joined at the thigh and bent at the knee; in order to have the toes pointing clockwise on both sides of the flag, a two-sided emblem is used | red with a large yellow five-pointed star in the center |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $1.6 billion (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 1%
industry: 13% services: 86% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 19.4%
industry: 42.3% services: 38.3% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $21,000 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 13.5% | 8.5% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 54 15 N, 4 30 W | 16 00 N, 106 00 E |
Geography - note | one small islet, the Calf of Man, lies to the southwest, and is a bird sanctuary | extending 1,650 km north to south, the country is only 50 km across at its narrowest point |
Heliports | - | 1 (2007) |
Highways | total: 800 km
paved: 800 km unpaved: 0 km (1999) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 28.9% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | - | minor producer of opium poppy; probable minor transit point for Southeast Asian heroin; government continues to face domestic opium/heroin/methamphetamine addiction problems despite longstanding crackdowns |
Imports | $NA | 271,100 bbl/day (2007) |
Imports - commodities | timber, fertilizers, fish | machinery and equipment, petroleum products, fertilizer, steel products, raw cotton, grain, cement, motorcycles |
Imports - partners | UK (2000) | China 17.7%, Singapore 12.9%, Taiwan 11.5%, Japan 9.8%, South Korea 8.4%, Thailand 7.3%, Malaysia 4.2% (2006) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 2 September 1945 (from France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (FY 96/97) | 17.1% (2007 est.) |
Industries | financial services, light manufacturing, tourism | food processing, garments, shoes, machine-building; mining, coal, steel; cement, chemical fertilizer, glass, tires, oil, paper |
Infant mortality rate | total: 6.17 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.24 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.05 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 24.37 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.76 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.6% (March 2003 est.) | 8.3% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | none | ACCT (observer), ADB, APEC, APT, ARF, ASEAN, CP, EAS, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIF, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | NA | - |
Irrigated land | 0 sq km (1998 est.) | 30,000 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | High Court of Justice (justices are appointed by the Lord Chancellor of England on the nomination of the lieutenant governor) | Supreme People's Court (chief justice is elected for a five-year term by the National Assembly on the recommendation of the president) |
Labor force | 36,610 (1998) | 45.73 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture, forestry and fishing 3%, manufacturing 11%, construction 10%, transport and communication 8%, wholesale and retail distribution 11%, professional and scientific services 18%, public administration 6%, banking and finance 18%, tourism 2%, entertainment and catering 3%, miscellaneous services 10% | agriculture: 55.6%
industry: 18.9% services: 25.5% (July 2005) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 4,639 km
border countries: Cambodia 1,228 km, China 1,281 km, Laos 2,130 km |
Land use | arable land: 0%
permanent crops: 0% other: 100% (permanent pastures, forests, mountain, and heathland) (1998 est.) |
arable land: 20.14%
permanent crops: 6.93% other: 72.93% (2005) |
Languages | English, Manx Gaelic | Vietnamese (official), English (increasingly favored as a second language), some French, Chinese, and Khmer; mountain area languages (Mon-Khmer and Malayo-Polynesian) |
Legal system | English common law and Manx statute | based on communist legal theory and French civil law system has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral Tynwald consists of the Legislative Council (an 11-member body composed of the President of Tynwald, the Lord Bishop of Sodor and Man, a nonvoting attorney general, and 8 others named by the House of Keys) and the House of Keys (24 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Keys - last held 22 November 2001 (next to be held NA November 2006) election results: House of Keys - percent of vote by party - Man Labor Party 17.3%, Alliance for Progressive Government 14.6%; seats by party - Man Labor Party 2, Alliance for Progressive Government 3, independents 19 |
unicameral National Assembly or Quoc Hoi (500 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 May 2007 (next to be held in May 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - CPV 450, non-party CPV-approved 42, self-nominated 1; note - 493 candidates were elected; CPV and non-party CPV-approved delegates were members of the Vietnamese Fatherland Front |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 77.98 years
male: 74.62 years female: 81.53 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 71.07 years
male: 68.27 years female: 74.08 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 90.3% male: 93.9% female: 86.9% (2002 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, island in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Gulf of Thailand, Gulf of Tonkin, and South China Sea, alongside China, Laos, and Cambodia |
Map references | Europe | Southeast Asia |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone: 12 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to the edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total: 211 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,297,301 GRT/8,703,079 DWT
ships by type: bulk 26, cargo 32, chemical tanker 20, combination bulk 2, container 22, liquefied gas 38, petroleum tanker 49, roll on/roll off 16, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 5 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Denmark 45, France 1, Germany 48, Greece 6, Hong Kong 10, Iceland 1, Italy 8, Monaco 7, Netherlands 3, Norway 5, Sweden 4, Switzerland 2, UK 70, US 1 (2002 est.) |
total: 314 ships (1000 GRT or over) 1,739,927 GRT/2,681,003 DWT
by type: barge carrier 1, bulk carrier 26, cargo 238, chemical tanker 7, container 6, liquefied gas 6, petroleum tanker 26, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 1, specialized tanker 1 registered in other countries: 33 (Antigua and Barbuda 1, Honduras 1, South Korea 1, Liberia 3, Mongolia 14, Panama 10, Tuvalu 3, unknown 2) (2007) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | People's Armed Forces: People's Army of Vietnam (PAVN) (includes People's Navy Command (with naval infantry, coast guard), Air and Air Defense Force (Kon Quan Nhan Dan), Border Defense Command), People's Public Security Forces, Militia Force, Self-Defense Forces (2005) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.5% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Tynwald Day, 5 July | Independence Day, 2 September (1945) |
Nationality | noun: Manxman (men), Manxwoman (women)
adjective: Manx |
noun: Vietnamese (singular and plural)
adjective: Vietnamese |
Natural hazards | NA | occasional typhoons (May to January) with extensive flooding, especially in the Mekong River delta |
Natural resources | none | phosphates, coal, manganese, bauxite, chromate, offshore oil and gas deposits, forests, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 5.39 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | -0.4 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | - | condensate/gas 432 km; gas 510 km; oil 49 km; refined products 206 km (2007) |
Political parties and leaders | Man Labor Party [leader NA]; Alliance for Progressive Government [leader NA]; Man Nationalist Party [leader NA]
note: most members sit as independents |
Communist Party of Vietnam or CPV [Nong Duc MANH]; other parties proscribed |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | groups advocate democracy but are not recognized by government - 8406 Bloc; Democratic Party of Vietnam or DPV; People's Democratic Party Vietnam or PDP-VN; Alliance for Democracy (2006) |
Population | 74,261 (July 2003 est.) | 85,262,356 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 14.75% (2007 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.53% (2003 est.) | 1.004% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Castletown, Douglas, Peel, Ramsey | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 65, FM 7, shortwave 29 (1999) |
Railways | total: 60 km (35 km electrified) (2002) | total: 2,600 km
standard gauge: 178 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 2,169 km 1.000-m gauge dual gauge: 253 km three-rail track combining 1.435 m and 1.000-m gauges (2006) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Methodist, Baptist, Presbyterian, Society of Friends | Buddhist 9.3%, Catholic 6.7%, Hoa Hao 1.5%, Cao Dai 1.1%, Protestant 0.5%, Muslim 0.1%, none 80.8% (1999 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.07 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.077 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.983 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.634 male(s)/female total population: 0.982 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: landline, telefax, mobile cellular telephone system international: fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, satellite earth station, submarine cable |
general assessment: Vietnam is putting considerable effort into modernization and expansion of its telecommunication system, but its performance continues to lag behind that of its more modern neighbors
domestic: all provincial exchanges are digitalized and connected to Hanoi, Da Nang, and Ho Chi Minh City by fiber-optic cable or microwave radio relay networks; main lines have been substantially increased, and the use of mobile telephones is growing rapidly international: country code - 84; a landing point for the SEA-ME-WE-3, the C2C, and Thailand-Vietnam-Hong Kong submarine cable systems; the Asia-America Gateway submarine cable system, scheduled for completion by the end of 2008, will provide new access links to Asia and the US; satellite earth stations - 2 Intersputnik (Indian Ocean region) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 51,000 (1999) | 10.8 million (2007) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | NA | 33.2 million (2007) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (receives broadcasts from the UK and satellite) (1999) | 6 (plus 61 provincial TV stations) (2006) |
Terrain | hills in north and south bisected by central valley | low, flat delta in south and north; central highlands; hilly, mountainous in far north and northwest |
Total fertility rate | 1.65 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 1.89 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.7% (March 2003) | 5.1% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | none | 17,702 km (5,000 km navigable by vessels up to 1.8 m draft) (2005) |